Rib assembly of umbrella

ABSTRACT

A rib assembly of umbrella having added safety to a user and longer service life is provided. The umbrella assembly structure has grooves of the outer and inner ribs faced away from the user. In other words, the sharp edges of the inner and outer ribs are turned away from the user to prevent hand cuts. Structurally, the use of grooved inner rib over a solid rib helps to reduce the weight of the rib assembly. In addition, the umbrella assembly structure has a secure portion of the outer rib removed to maintain the structural strength of the outer rib.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The instant disclosure relates to a rib assembly of umbrella; inparticular, a rib assembly of umbrella with added safety to a user andlonger service life.

2. Description of the Related Art

As society grows, higher living standards and product qualities arebeing demanded. Such demand includes the consumer product such as theumbrellas. With a large global market, umbrellas continue to be activelydeveloped with different styles and improved qualities.

Umbrella products include folding umbrellas, straight umbrellas, andauto open & close umbrellas. The auto open & close umbrellas are mostpopular because of simplicity and easy to use. FIG. 1 shows a ribassembly of a typical umbrella, where a rib assembly 1 comprises a topnotch 11, a middle runner 12, a bottom runner 13, a pole 14, a flexiblemember 15, a stretcher 16, a U-shaped outer rib 17, and an 0-shapedinner rib. The top notch 11 is fixed to the upper portion of the pole14, with the middle runner 12 and the bottom runner 13 slidable aboutthe pole 14. One end of the stretcher 16 is pivotally connected to thetop notch 11, while the other portion is pivotally connected to one endof the outer rib 17. Arched with a U-shaped groove 170 having a secureportion 171, the outer rib 17 is pivotally connected on one end to themiddle runner 12. One end of the inner rib 18 is pivotally connected tothe secure portion 171, while the other end is pivotally connected tothe bottom runner 13. Specifically, the U-shaped groove 170 is facingthe inner rib 18 and accommodate the inner rib 18 therein. The firstflexible member of the flexible member 15 is connected in between thetop notch 11 and the middle runner 12, while the second flexible memberis connected in between the middle runner 12 and the bottom runner 13.To close the umbrella, the bottom runner 13 is pulled downward manually.By moving the inner rib 18 via the bottom runner 13, the outer rib 17and the stretcher 16 are pivoted concurrently to collapse the ribassembly 1. At the closed position, the inner rib 18 is accommodatedwithin the U-shaped groove 170 of the outer rib 17.

As discussed above, the U-shaped groove 170 faces the inner rib 18,which means the sharp edges of the outer rib 17 faces the user.Consequently, the hand of the user is often cut by the sharp edges ofthe outer rib 17 while opening or closing the umbrella. Furthermore, thetypical umbrella is defected structurally, where the secure portion 171reduces the supporting strength of the outer rib 17. In turn, the outerrib 17 tends to become unstable and breaks the inner rib 18. Thereby,the rib assembly 1 has a relative short service life.

To resolve the above issue, the inventor provides an instant disclosureto overcome the shortcomings of the related art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary object of the instant disclosure is to provide a ribassembly of an umbrella with added safety to a user and longer servicelife.

To achieve the above object, the instant disclosure provides a ribassembly of an umbrella having a pole; a top notch fixed to the upperportion of the pole; a middle and bottom runner which are slidable aboutthe pole; a flexible member having a first and second flexible member,such as a coil spring, wherein the first flexible member is disposed inbetween the top notch and the middle runner, and the second flexiblemember is disposed in between the middle and the bottom runner, whereinboth flexible members work together operationally; a stretcher connectedpivotally on one end to the top notch; an outer rib connected pivotallyon one end to the stretcher and to the middle runner on the other end,wherein the outer rib is grooved with the opening toward the stretcher;and an inner rib having an insertion end and a fixing end extendedtherefrom, wherein the fixing end has a secure portion formed thereofand pivotally connected to the outer rib, and the insertion end ispivotally connected to the bottom runner, wherein the inner rib isgrooved for accommodating the outer rib.

The instant disclosure has the following advantages. For safety, thegrooves of the outer and inner ribs are faced away from the user, whichmeans the sharp edges of the inner and outer ribs are turned away fromthe user to prevent hand cuts. Structurally, the use of grooved innerrib over a solid rib helps to reduce the weight of the rib assembly. Inaddition, the secure portion of the outer rib is removed to maintain thestructural strength of the outer rib.

Furthermore, the grooves of the outer and inner ribs are U-shaped, whichis easy to manufacture. Comparing to solid ribs, the U-shaped groove isstronger against bending and folding stress, which allows the ribassembly to have a longer service life.

For material selection, the stretcher may be manufactured from steel orplastic materials, and the outer and inner ribs may be made of aluminumor iron alloys.

In order to further appreciate the characteristics and technicalcontents of the instant disclosure, references are hereunder made to thedetailed descriptions and appended drawings in connection with theinstant disclosure. However, the appended drawings are merely shown forexemplary purposes, rather than being used to restrict the scope of theinstant disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a structural view of a rib assembly of an umbrella of therelated art.

FIG. 2 shows a structural view of a rib assembly of an umbrella of theinstant disclosure.

FIG. 3 shows a structural view of a rib assembly of an umbrella ofanother embodiment of the instant disclosure.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to FIG. 2, which shows a rib assembly 2 of an umbrella ofthe instant disclosure. The rib assembly 2 comprises a top notch 21, amiddle runner 22, a bottom runner 23, a pole 24, a first flexible member251, a second flexible member 252, a stretcher 26, an outer rib 27, andan inner rib 28. The top notch 21 is fixed to the upper portion of thepole 24, and the middle and bottom runners 22 and 23 are slidable aboutthe pole 24. The stretcher 26 is pivotally connected on one end to thetop notch 21. The stretcher 26 is also pivotally connected to one end ofthe outer rib 27. Another end of the outer rib 27 is pivotally connectedto the middle runner 22. The inner rib 28 has an insertion end 28 b anda fixing end 28 a extended therefrom. The fixing end 28 a is pivotallyconnected to the outer rib 27 and the insertion end 28 b is pivotallyconnected to the bottom runner 23. The first flexible member 251 isconnected in between the top notch 21 and the middle runner 22, and thesecond flexible member 252 is connected in between the middle runner 22and the bottom runner 23. The first and second flexible members 251 and252 can be a coil spring.

The outer rib 27 is arched in forming a U-shaped continuous groove 270facing the stretcher 260. The grooved structure helps to reduce weightand increases the supporting strength. Similarly, the inner rib 28 isalso grooved. The U-shaped continuous groove faces the outer rib 27 andreceives the outer rib 27 therein when collapsing the rib assembly 2.The U-shaped continuous groove also reduces weight and increases thesupporting strength of the inner rib 28. At the fixing end 28 a, theopposed longitudinally extending channels of the U-shaped continuousgroove form a secure portion 281, which is pivotally connected to theouter rib 27.

Alternatively, FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the instantdisclosure. The rib assembly 2 comprises a top notch 21, a middle runner22, a bottom runner 23, a pole 24, a flexible member 25, a stretcher 26,an outer rib 27, and an inner rib 28. The instant embodiment employsonly one flexible member 25, which is connected in between the middlerunner 22 and the bottom runner 23.

In addition, the number of the stretcher 26, the outer rib 27, and theinner rib 28 are not restricted for the instant disclosure

Thereby, the instant disclosure has the following advantages. For thesafety aspect, the U-shaped continuous groove 270 of the outer rib 27and the U-shaped continuous groove of the inner rib 28 are faced awayfrom the user, which means the sharp edges of the outer and inner ribs27 and 28 are turned away from the user to prevent hand cuts. Comparedto solid ribs, the grooved outer and inner ribs 27 and 28 reduce theweight of the rib assembly. In addition, the grooved rib assembly isstronger against bending and folding stress. Furthermore, the secureportion 281 defined by the fixing end 28 a of the inner rib 28 removesthe need to modify the outer rib 17 as shown in the related art. Bymaintaining the uniformity of the grooved structure, the outer rib 27 isstronger structurally in providing longer service life.

Still further, the U-shaped continuous groove 270 of the outer rib 27and the U-shaped continuous groove of the inner rib 28 can be easilyformed through the manufacturing process. For material selection, thestretcher 26 may be manufactured from steel or plastic materials, andthe outer and inner ribs 27 and 28 may be made of aluminum or ironalloys.

The descriptions illustrated supra set forth simply the preferredembodiments of the instant disclosure; however, the characteristics ofthe instant disclosure are by no means restricted thereto. All changes,alternations, or modifications conveniently considered by those skilledin the art are deemed to be encompassed within the scope of the instantdisclosure delineated by the following claims.

1. A rib assembly of umbrella, comprising: a pole; a top notch fixed tothe pole; a middle runner slidably mounted on the pole; a bottom runnerslidably mounted on the pole; at least one flexible member mounted onthe pole; at least one stretcher connected pivotally on one end to thetop notch; at least one outer rib connected pivotally on one end to eachstretcher, each outer rib is pivotally connected on another end to themiddle runner, a continuous groove is formed on each outer rib facingeach stretcher; and at least one inner rib having an insertion end and afixing end extended therefrom, the fixing end is further extended informing a secure portion pivotally connecting to the outer rib, theinsertion end is pivotally connected to the bottom runner, a continuousgroove is formed on each inner rib facing each outer rib to accommodateeach outer rib therein.
 2. The rib assembly of umbrella of claim 1,wherein the continuous groove of each outer and inner rib is U-shaped.3. The rib assembly of umbrella of claim 1, wherein each stretcher issteel or plastics.
 4. The rib assembly of umbrella of claim 1, whereineach outer rib and each inner rib is aluminum alloys or iron alloys. 5.The rib assembly of umbrella of claim 1, wherein each flexible member isa spring unit.